Georgia to resume talks with China on participation in Anaklia port construction - PM

TBILISI. April 23 (Interfax) - A delegation of the Georgian Economy Ministry plans to discuss China's participation in the construction of the Anaklia deep-water port during an upcoming visit to China, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.

"The Anaklia port will be discussed among other issues during Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili's visit. All issues, including Anaklia, will be addressed during the visit to China. Interest certainly persists, the negotiations are ongoing, and we will have to wait for the rest," Kobakhidze told the media, as reported by bm.ge.

"Let's wait for events to unfold. News about Anaklia will be reported soon," he said.

A Chinese-Singaporean consortium of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC, China) and China Harbor Investment (Singapore) was named the preferred partner in the Anaklia port construction project after an international contest in 2024. However, the Georgian government has yet to declare the consortium as the contest winner.

In April 2025, members of the Helsinki Commission (Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe) of the U.S. Congress voiced concern about Georgia's decision to license the Chinese conglomerate conduct the Anaklia port project, considering that it included entities sanctioned by the United States. The Helsinki Commission said it worried about China's control of the Anaklia port and dominance in the Black Sea region.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Megobari bill in May 2025, which increased pressure on Georgia so that it would not give the port construction project to the Chinese state-run companies.

Later on, the Georgian government concluded a contract with the Belgian company Jan De Nul for Anaklia port dredging, and work began last year. Kobakhidze said in early April this year that the Georgian government had cut the cost of its contract with Jan De Nul by $52.5 million, or 25%, in order to save budget funds.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the U.S. Department of State reviewed the construction of the Anaklia port and infrastructure around it in late March against the backdrop of the Middle East conflict, and Kobakhidze said that the strategic partnership with the United States might be reinstated. "Numerous negotiations have been held over the past period. All of that makes us optimistic about the possible resumption of the strategic partnership between the United States and Georgia," Kobakhidze said.

The Georgian authorities repeatedly said that the Anaklia port would open to vessels in 2029. The port's first phase is due to handle 600,000 containers per year (7.8 million tonnes of cargo), with an estimated construction cost of $600 million. A free industrial zone will be built near the port.

If the project is implemented, Anaklia will be the only deep-water port in Georgia serving Panamax and Post-Panamax cargo ships, which are currently bound for ports in Turkey or Russia. Furthermore, the deep-water port will increase the capacity of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, a strategic overland trade route connecting Europe to Central Asia and China through Georgia.